Pride of Lazytown
by PT Malvik
Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to revelations and some unlikely heroes. FINISHED 02 05 06. Thanks for reading!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part One)  
Author: PTMalvik

Rating: PG13  
Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes.

* * *

By the time the second annual Sports Day rolled around, Lazytown was much better prepared than ever before. Stephanie's uncle had made it his goal to turn the sports field into the pride of the town - versus the dump it had been in its previous incarnation.

The green grass sparkled. The chalk lines were fresh and whiter than white. The netting for the goals and basketball hoops were newly woven. Not a trace of litter or weeds could be seen.

Stephanie was impressed. It looked even better than the pristine sports field she was used to at home. "Great job, Uncle Milford! I know this is going to be the best Sports Day ever."

"With the best turnout ever, I hope," he replied, giving his niece a warm hug. "You know, I never considered this place as a tourist attraction, but if we clean it up, get things moving around here ..."

From somewhere below, a groan was heard. Both Stephanie and the Mayor glanced around. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "I wonder where that came from?"

"I don't know," Stephanie replied. She was about to take off and investigate a little, when she felt a bump against her shoulder. Turning around, she laughed at the sight of one of her friends. "Trixie!"

"What's up?" Trixie asked, her brown pigtails bouncing. Trixie was smart and only a little bit bad. But when that bad part came out to play ... "Wanna go and roll in the grass?"

"No," Stephanie chided. "We have to keep the place looking nice until Sports Day. But afterwards ..."

Trixie laughed. "Okay, okay. I hear you. What event are you in this year?"

"Soccer," Stephanie replied with a determined look. She didn't care if she was the only person on the team; she missed the game too much to let a little thing like a lack of teammates stop her this year.

Befuddled, Trixie squinted at her. "You can play that with one person?"

"No," Stephanie sighed. "But I don't care. The other team can win. I just want to get a couple of kicks in."

"Who's going to get kicked?" Another voice chiming in, this time Stingy's. "I'll hold them down for you if you give me their toys when you're done."

It took effort, but Stephanie refrained from rolling her eyes. She liked her friends, even enjoyed their quirks, but every now and then ... "I'm talking about kicking a soccer ball for Sports Day. Do you want to join me, Stingy?"

Stingy played with one of his watches. He always wore three of them -- a wristwatch, a chain watch and a pocket watch, just to show off how many he had. "Depends. What do I get out of it?"

"The satisfaction of being a good friend," Trixie replied, a little sarcastically. She turned to Stephanie. "I'll play with you. There isn't a lot of running around in this game, is there?"

Biting her lip, Stephanie hemmed and hawwed. She _really_ wanted to play and telling Trixie that soccer required you to run nonstop for hours on end wasn't going to help her in that goal. But outright lying wasn't really her style. "A bit" Hesitantly. "You know, kinda."

"You'll be running like faucet," Pixel chimed in, hopping over a small concrete wall to join them. "Sort of like your mouth, Trix." He laughed at Trixie's cross look. "Jus' kidding. Say, is Sportacus joining in again this year? We'll be lost without him."

"He'll be here," Stephanie said with confidence. She thought for a moment. "But it wouldn't hurt to make sure," she conceded. "Anyone have a piece of paper and a pen?"

Some negative murmurs all around, including a few sticky ones from Ziggy who had arrived, with a mouth full of lollipop. Finally, Stingy replied, "I do, but it's mine."

"Stingy!" They cried in unison. "Give her the paper, man," Pixel ordered with a glare. "Or you're not going to even _see_ my new, improved version of Roboshoot 1000. The one I made all those one-of-a-kind levels for."

An obvious war was fought inside of Stingy, but he finally relented, handing Stephanie a tattered piece of looseleaf and a worn-down pencil. "And I want that pencil back when you're done."

"Sure," Stephanie replied, skipping over to a nearby bench and sitting down to write her letter. _"Dear Sportacus,_" she began, trying to keep her handwriting neat. She didn't know why, but somehow it felt respectful to her friend to send him only neat letters -- except during an emergency, then any old scribble would do. _"I hope you'll be able to play with us again on Sports Day this year. We had so much fun the last time you were with us and the field looks extra nice. Please let us know if you can. Love ..."_ Here, she blushed, not exactly knowing why. "_Stephanie_."

A small flourish at the end of her name and the letter was ready. The sky tube was procured from Stingy's pocket (only after Trixie and Pixel threatened to hold him upside down by his ankles and shake it out of him) and together they headed down to the hydraulic tube shoot, next to the town's mailbox.

A pull of the bright yellow handle and the missive was away. Smiling, Stephanie watched as it breached the clouds, marveling at how it always unerringly reached its destination. She wondered what Sportacus was up to in his airship, what miraculous feats he was pulling off at that very moment probably and if he thought as often about his friends in Lazytown and she ... they ... thought about him.

Stingy's voice broke into her thoughts. "Pencil, please," he said, his hand held out.

"Oh, Stingy," she replied with a laugh, handing him back his battered writing instrument. She was about to suggest a rousing game of kickball to pass the time, when a loud "WHOOSH!" was heard over their heads.

A blur of blue and Stephanie felt her heart leap. "Sportacus!" she cried joyfully, laughing when he gracefully landed in front of all of them.

"Sportacus!" her friends yelled in unison, rushing in for a hug from their superhero friend.

He gave them each a big one, coming over to Stephanie last. Pulling her into a warm embrace, he rested his cheek for a moment on the top of her head. "I got your letter and of course, I'll be here for Sports Day. I wouldn't miss it."

Looking up at him, Stephanie grinned. "I knew we could count on you."

"We want to win this year, Sportacus," exclaimed Ziggy. "Do you think we can?"

"I'm sure you can, but it's going to take practice," Sportacus replied heartily. He leapt up into a backflip that neatly ended on the upper bleacher of the new sports' field. "So who's with me for some soccer?"

Stephanie's heart jumped happily. Not only would she get to play soccer, but with Sportacus and maybe all her friends too. It didn't get any better than this. "I am!"

The others looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison. "We are," they chimed, not quite as excitedly, but it was enough.

Together, they headed out after Sportacus, through the grass and onto the field to play one of the first soccer games Lazytown had seen in what seemed like forever.

* * *

With much fanfare, well, as much fanfare as Miss Busybody could create with a case of streamers, balloons and a lone helium tank, not to mention the office coffee maker, able to spew out fifty cups at a time before overheating, Sports Day arrived.

The weather was perfect, a combination of sun and low humidity, with only a couple of white, puffy clouds in the sky. The competing towns had arrived early and Stephanie's couldn't believe all the happy, active folks she saw stretching and warming up, getting ready for some good natured competition.

With a quick adjustment of her pink sweatsuit (bought especially for the day by a smiling Uncle Milford), Stephanie ran out onto the field, soccer ball in hand. She didn't see Ziggy or the others, nor Sportacus, but she wasn't worried. This was the biggest event in Lazytown in a year -- no one was going to miss it.

But one person _was_ there, one of the last she'd expected to see.

"So, little girl," said Robbie Rotten, perpetual sneer properly in place. Thin arms crossed over a thinner chest. "You and your pal Sportakook think you can take over this town and turn _everyone_ into some hopping, skipping, jumping waste of flesh, do you?"

"I know we could never do that to you," Stephanie sighed. She could never figure Robbie out. Sometimes she thought he was mean, other times just misguided ... even funny sometimes. But at that moment, he was just annoying. "You certainly are good at avoiding all of those things."

"I certainly am," Robbie sniffed. He turned on her with a scowl. "And you should be too, Pinkie, if you know what's good for you."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Not listening to you is the best thing for me, Mr. Rotten," she said curtly, before running off and leaving him to grimace in the far distance.

The group stretching turned into jumping, then to impatient milling about the green grass. Stephanie hopped excitedly when she saw a familiar blue blur in the distance, followed by the sound of Stingy's car rolling toward the field. Soon, she was surrounded by her team -- The Lazytown Jumpers.

She'd thought of the name herself, even hand-sewing little Velcro "LJ" patches for everyone to put on their jerseys. She jumped up and down to get their attention and soon was surrounded by her friends.

Ziggy in particular was excited about the game. Stingy wanted the patches -- all of them, and a small fight broke out between him and Trixie over the last one. Pixel stared lovingly at the new electronic scoreboard, the one he'd personally created the software for. Sportacus began to warm up in his usual frenetic way.

In the distance, Robbie Rotten scowled some more.

A whistle was blown and quickly, Stephanie chose the team positions -- Trixie as a defender, Ziggy and Stingy as midfielders, Pixel and herself as forwards.

Finally, Sportacus was chosen as the goalie. To Stephanie's surprise, he looked a little nervous. "I'm usually a midfielder," he said with a tight grin. "But ... I will try my best."

She giggled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine," she assured him, with a squeeze to his hand. "I have complete faith in you."

"Thank you, Stephanie." Sportacus clapped his hands together and cried, "All right, Lazytown Jumpers. Let's get this game on the move!"

The other team went into position. Suddenly Stephanie didn't feel so badly about having an adult at the goal. These out-of-town kids were _huge_ for their age, lording over them in both height and weight. _But, it's all for fun_, Stephanie thought, so ...

The starting whistle went off and Stephanie's illusion about it all being for nothing but fun went right out the window. Immediately, the ball was snatched out from under her feet, as another was planted in her way, effectively tripping her. Down she went, getting a face full of grass for her trouble.

Spluttering, Stephanie rose. "Wait a minute," she cried, as Trixie was also sent flying with a trip. Stephanie gaped at them, and at the crowd who seemed to be cheering them on, oblivious to the cruel cheating that was going on.

Just like Lazytown not to notice something like that, she thought furiously, annoyed to the very core.

Poor Ziggy looked like he wanted to run away, as did Pixel. Only Stingy went after the other team with gusto, loudly proclaiming ownership of the ball, but soon he was in the dirt as well, looking stunned.

The out-of-town team steamrollered to the goal, where Sportacus was waiting, with a grim expression. _Kick!_, the ball went flying toward a huge opening in the defense, but he was too quick for them. Leaping sideways, he caught the ball easily, landing in a crouch. Rising gracefully, he waved forward the Lazytown team.

"Come on guys, don't be afraid," he said, even as the other team practically snarled like dogs at them. "Bad sportsmanship never wins in the end."

Stephanie wondered about that, but she tentatively came forward, as did a steaming mad Trixie. Stingy was still after the ball, but Ziggy kept to the sidelines clutching a lollipop close. Pixel was looking up something on his wrist computer, but there was no time for anything as the ball came flying to them.

Stephanie knocked it down and ran as fast as she could toward the opposite goal. She might have been smaller, but she was quick, as was Trixie. Together, they passed and ran, passed and ran, until they _almost_ got within kicking range of the goal.

_BAM!_ An elbow to a soft part between her ribs, and Stephanie gasped and fell, one leg slipping beneath her falling body in the still damp grass. An audible _pop!_ and a burning pain in her ankle made her scream out loud.

Somewhere through the haze of agony, she thought she could hear Robbie Rotten -- perhaps even the entire town -- laughing at her and the tears began to flow uncontrollably, even as she tried to hold them back.

_"I'm not going to let them -- or Robbie -- see me cry. Not going to ..._

It was useless. The pain was excruciating and the time-out whistle blew as she sobbed, wondering what she'd done to deserve this. Immediately, Sportacus was at her side, holding her hand, telling her it was going to be all right. Her friends' pale faces hovered above and she could hear her Uncle Milford calling out for help somewhere on the field.

Eventually it was Sportacus who waved over the paramedics who were hired for the day. He didn't let go of Stephanie's hand as they stabilized her leg, as well as her neck, then carefully lifted her onto a stretcher. From somewhere, Uncle Milford appeared, smoothing her hair away from her forehead, murmuring soothing nonsense.

Standing next to him was an unwelcome visage. It was Robbie Rotten's long face and Stephanie couldn't help herself. He was the personification of what was wrong with everything in Lazytown, everything she wished would just disappear.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, pushing herself up on the stretcher, half out of her mind with pain. The words kept coming, even as the world wavered in front of her, making it hard to see who she was yelling at. "I NEVER HATED SOMEONE SO MUCH! I WISH YOU'D JUST DIE!"

"Stephanie ... Stephanie," Sportacus embraced her as she sobbed. He gently lowered her back onto the stretcher. "Shhhhhh. It's okay."

Robbie seemed taken aback. "I ... I ..."

"Not now, Robbie," Sportacus said sharply, helping the paramedics lift their burden. "We'll talk later."

Stephanie closed her eyes against the agony. Clenching her jaw and fists, she decided she was through trying and didn't care anymore. Not about Robbie Rotten, not about sports or dancing or singing ... not about Lazytown, not even her friends who stood there and let her get beaten to the ground and laughed at. She was through with all of them.

Forever.

0o0o0o

to be continued


	2. Emergency

Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part Two)  
Author: PT Malvik

Rating: PG13  
Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes.

* * *

The ride to the hospital took little over half an hour as the nearest fully equipped ER was in the next town over. Uncle Milford and Sportacus rode with Stephanie -- Sportacus quietly holding her hand, Uncle Milford fretting loudly at the ambulance driver every few seconds to hurry.

"Don't worry," Sportacus whispered in her ear, perhaps to drown out the sounds of her uncle's agitation. "You're going to be fine."

_No, I'm not_, she thought, but only tightened her grip on Sportacus' hand in response.

"We're almost there," Sportacus continued. "And, once we're inside, the doctor will take a look and bandage you up a little and then, zip, zip, zip, you'll be on your feet again in no time. You'll see."

Kind words, but hot tears still ran down her cheeks and Stephanie was grateful when Sportacus dabbed a tissue against her runny nose. Her ankle throbbed horribly with every bump in the road. She didn't even want to think about how it would feel when they'd start moving the stretcher again.

The ambulance dipped down into a narrow driveway. A hospital loomed overhead and the paramedic crew scurried to get everyone out -- Sportacus, a hyperventilating Uncle Milford and finally, Stephanie. Somehow, Sportacus managed to keep a hold of her hand even as he helped the crew get her down.

It didn't matter. She had to bite her lip against crying out in pain as they rolled her into the ER. The smell of hospital disinfectant filled her nostrils as they pushed her through the doors. "Pediatric!" one of the paramedics called out. "We have a possible ankle fracture here. All life signs are stable."

Stephanie opened her eyes. A young doctor was already standing over her. "Hi, sweetie. Can you tell me your name?" she asked, all the while fiddling with various pieces of equipment.

"Stephanie."

"You took a tumble, huh?"

"I was tripped," Stephanie muttered, the anger still fresh. "The other team tripped me on purpose."

"Oh my," the doctor said, checking her eyes and feeling gingerly around her neck, obviously more interested in the nature of her injuries than in the cause. "That wasn't nice. Do you have any pain up here, in your head or neck?"

"The brace hurts."

"Any pain besides that? Does anything look blurry to you?"

"No."

"That's a good thing. We'll take the brace off in a little while. Now, let's look at that ankle." She pulled very gently at the hem of Stephanie's sweat pants and gave a low whistle. "Oh, boy. That's a doozy you got there, honey. We're going to bring the X-Ray machine over here instead of making you go over to another room. You know what an X-Ray does, right?"

"Yes. It takes a picture."

The doctor seemed pleased. "That's right. Such a smart young lady. Once we get the picture, we'll see what's what." She turned to the nurses, her tone turning professional. "Get radiology in here with the portable unit. Then call orthopedics, tell them we have a likely pediatric talus fracture. I want the X-Rays stat, before swelling gets past the casting point." She turned to Uncle Milford and Sportacus. "Are either one of you this little girl's father?"

"Uh ... uh ... I'm her guardian," a flustered Uncle Milford replied. "Her uncle."

She motioned for him to join her at the other side of the ER. "Let's talk over here, uncle." Her voice lowered, but Stephanie could make out the words "likely broken", "possibility of surgery", "pins" and the sound of Uncle Milford getting more and more upset with every scenario the doctor presented.

"Oh, my! Oh, dear!" he yelped and Stephanie started to shake with fear.

Sportacus leaned over and softly rubbed her arms, smiling and talking to her in his kindest voice. "Stephanie, listen to me. If you were that badly hurt, you'd already be taken upstairs or to the back area for them to work on. She is just telling your uncle about all the possibilities because she has to. Don't be afraid."

"Did you ever break anything?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Sportacus chuckled. "I sure have. Let's see ..." He held up his hand to count off on his fingers. "My arm, my collarbone, one little toe, one big toe .. and yes ..." Here, he waggled his thumb. "My favorite finger. And boy, did that hurt. I cried for the whole day."

"How little were you when that happened?"

Sportacus laughed heartily. "Not so little. In fact, I was the exact same height I am now." He brushed a few strands of sweat damp hair away from her forehead. "Don't be scared. I know it hurts, but it will get better, I promise."

The doctor finished up with Uncle Milford, who looked white as a ghost and was gasping for air. "It'll be okay, Mr. Meanswell," said the doctor. "Deep breathing, now." She motioned at a nurse. "Nancy, please get a Valium and some water for this gentleman here ... thanks." She turned to Sportacus and Stephanie, with a very large, and not very reassuring, smile on her face as a man pushing a large machine came through the curtain. "Jim here is going to take that picture now. Coach, I'm sorry, but you'll have to step away for a couple of minutes."

"No problem," replied Sportacus, who leaned in to kiss Stephanie on her forehead. "I'm going to be right outside."

She clutched his hand tightly. "You won't leave? You promise?"

"Cross my heart," he replied solemnly. "I'll be right outside and will come back in when they are done." He grasped a shaky Mayor Meanswell by the arm. "Come on, Mayor. I'll get you a bottle of cold water."

Sportacus left and the X-Ray machine was rolled over to her bed. Stephanie never felt tinier or more alone. She closed her eyes and tried to think positive thoughts but between her anger at what happened and the throbbing pain, she wasn't having much success.

In her heart, she knew that everything would probably be all right, eventually, even with Uncle Milford's meltdown and all, but eventually seemed like a really long time away.

She couldn't _believe_ this had happened to her. Just as she was getting used to being in Lazytown and being happy there. And she couldn't believe all those people thinking it was funny that she'd broken her ankle on the playing field -- not to mention letting the other team get away with it.

Especially Robbie Rotten. What an idiot she'd been about him. Thinking he was nice underneath all that meanness. But he wasn't -- he was rotten to the core, just like his name. She was never going to trust him and his intentions again. As far as she was concerned, he was just plain evil. "Hope you're happy now, Robbie," she whispered under her breath. "I won't be playing outside for the rest of the summer."

In fact, he probably planned the entire thing, knowing him. This thought made her throat constrict and Stephanie grit her teeth, trying to keep more tears from rolling down her face.

Stephanie swallowed hard as the technician adjusted her leg ever so slightly. The machine hummed and he left, saying: "Don't move a muscle now, okay? One ... two ..."

_Click_! One X-Ray down. The technician returned and slid another plate under her foot, making her grimace in pain. "Sorry, hon. Just one more. Hold still."

Another buzz-click! and the X-Rays were done. As promised, Sportacus returned the moment after the machine was rolled away, as did Uncle Milford. He looked a lot more relaxed, a little woozy even and Stephanie wondered if that had anything to do with the pill the doctor had ordered for him.

Speaking of the doctor, she returned ten minutes later, holding two X-Ray sheets. She clipped them both to a light box on the wall and hit a switch, showing a ghostly image of Stephanie's ankle bones. There was an obvious black break line running through one of them. "Well, young lady, I'm sorry to say you have a fracture. But, I'm pleased to say that six or so weeks in a cast should set everything right again."

"Six weeks!" Stephanie moaned. Six weeks of summer ... gone down the tubes. It might as well been six years.

Sportacus rubbed his chin. "But everything will be fine after that?" he asked the doctor.

"If I were a gambling woman, I'd say so," the doctor replied, giving Stephanie's arm a friendly squeeze. "I know, it's not what you wanted to hear, honey, but let's just say I'm glad we didn't have to go in there and pin things back together. That would have made the recovery time much longer."

She reached for the wall phone and punched some numbers in. "Orthopedics? Yeah, send down Victor with some casting supplies to the ER. No ... no ... I'd rather have him do it. It's a pediatric. I want it done right. Yes ..."

"My dear," Uncle Milford's face was twisted with worry. "Please don't be upset. I'm going to call your father and have him come right ..."

"Don't," Stephanie interjected abruptly, thinking of her father and the business trip overseas he was on that was going to pay off many of the debts that had been quietly plaguing her family for the past couple of years, driving them deeper and deeper toward the point of no return. This was the break of a lifetime for him ... for all of them and Stephanie wasn't going to ruin it. "Daddy doesn't have to come home just for this. I know we can manage, right?"

Pleading, and Uncle Milford slowly nodded. "We certainly can, my dear. But if you change your mind ..."

"I won't," Stephanie said firmly. She took a deep breath, feeling a little more in control again. She tried to smile. "It's not that big a deal, really. It's just a little cast. Almost everyone gets one at some point, right, Sportacus?"

He gave her a thumbs up, then looked at his thumb and laughed. "I know I have."

"It's going to be okay," Stephanie whispered to herself, as the orthopedic doctor appeared with a pan and a casting kit. "It's all going to be fine."

* * *

But having a cast wasn't okay at all, at least not on the first night.

It was heavy and hot and clumsy, not to mention how it did nothing to relieve the searing pain Stephanie felt when she had to get from the car to the borrowed wheelchair, and from the wheelchair to her bed. Sportacus carried her over the really hard parts, but he couldn't stay forever and once he was gone, she was at a loss at how she would manage, even with the chair and crutches.

With some effort, she was tucked into her bed, just as the sun started to set outside her window. Sighing, she stared at it mournfully for a few minutes, until only a few pink clouds remained over the horizon.

Uncle Milford came in a few minutes later, carrying a bowl of chocolate pudding and a spoon. "I put your medicine in here, my dear. Miss Busybody says that's the easiest way to take it," he said, sitting himself down gingerly at her side. "Are you all right to eat it? I can help ..."

"I can hold a spoon, Uncle," Stephanie said, not unkindly, but she was too tired to be all that social. At his sad expression, she held out her arms and he gladly embraced her. It seemed like he needed the hug more than she did. "It's going to be okay," she murmured against his shoulder. "Really."

"I know, sweetheart. I just wish .." He paused, then smiled weakly. "How about you finish that pudding?"

"Yes, Uncle," Stephanie agreed, spooning up the gooey chocolate. It was sweet and cold and soon enough it was gone. Almost immediately, Stephanie began to yawn as the pain in her ankle slowly disappeared. "Gosh, it's been quite a day, hasn't it?"

"An awful day," he sighed, but he forced himself to brighten. "But tomorrow will be better, I promise."

Stephanie sunk into her pillow, yawning broadly. "I hope so."

"Goodnight, my dear, my sweet little one. Sleep tight."

"Goodnight ... "

* * *

At Robbie Rotten's underground lair, things weren't nearly as peaceful as he would have liked.

Especially considering that Sportacus was standing over his favorite resting chair and glowering at him ... dangerously.

"I think we need to talk, Robbie," growled Sportacus, both hands planted on his hips, his cheek muscles twitching "And you'd better tell me what I want to hear."

* * *

to be continued

Thanks for the very kind reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed it so far. There's more to come and as always, I love hearing from you.


	3. Derottenizing

Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part Three)  
Author: PT Malvik

Rating: PG13  
Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes.

0o0o0o

Robbie cringed away from the looming figure towering over him. "What do you want?" he whined. Not that he intended for it to come out as a whine. Robbie prided himself on being just as tall, just as impressive a figure as this muscle-bound goon Sportakook -- it just never seemed to work out that way.

Sportacus wasn't amused. Not this time. "I want you to tell me to my face that you had nothing to do with what happened to Stephanie on Sports Day," Sportacus said, his lips pressed into a grim line. "I want to hear it directly from you."

"I had nothing to do with whatever happened to the pink-haired girl, whoever she is," Robbie said carelessly, even as a drop of nervous sweat rolled down his back.

"Her name is Stephanie and she was seriously injured!" Sportacus' eyes flashed angrily. "Robbie, I pride myself on being very patient with you. I_want_ to think the best of you no matter how you act to the contrary. I don't care what you try and do to me, but when someone I care about gets harmed ..."

Robbie gave him a sidelong glance. He looked troubled. "How badly was she hurt?"

"Her ankle is broken. She'll be in a cast for six weeks."

"That's not good." Robbie rose, rubbing his chin.

"No, it's not. So, are you telling me the truth? Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?" Robbie challenged him. "You and those hyperactive children seem to hold a very low opinion of my integrity, as your presence here clearly indicates."

"Can you blame us?" Sportacus turned away and threw his hands up in frustration. "Honestly, Robbie, you're impossible." He suddenly whirled around, shaking a finger pointedly at Robbie. "But if Stephanie's accident was your doing, then you've gone too far this time. And I swear to you, I'm not going to turn the other cheek again. You don't want me as a real enemy, I'm warning you."

Robbie regarded him for some long -- tense -- moments Finally: "I had nothing to do with the little girl getting hurt," he said gravely. "In fact ... you may not believe this, but I'm just as angry as you about the situation, albeit for a different reason."

Confused, Sportacus cocked his head to one side. "What other reason could there be?"

"The reason, Sportabefuddled," Robbie sniped back, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Is that if anyone is going to be bad in Lazytown, that someone is going to be ME. I do all my own work, if you haven't noticed. And I don't appreciate being upstaged by a gang of angry midgets from some other pathetic town." His voice lowered, as if he were embarrassed. "Besides, I'm not into _maiming_ little children. Just ... outsmarting them."

This caused Sportacus to pause. He examined Robbie with a critical eye. "So ... you're saying that you didn't have anything to do with this? Didn't pay off the other team to sideline ours?"

Robbie laughed loudly. "Pay them? Why should I pay anyone to do what I can do myself? Absolutely not. What a monumental waste of money that would be." He leaned in toward Sportacus with a conspiratorial gleam in his eye. "In fact, if you ever want to teach the little brats a lesson, I'm the man for you."

"No ..." Sportacus began, until a thought slowly dawned over him. He looked at Robbie, then thought about poor Stephanie and how disillusioned and angry she'd seemed after her fall. Something hopeful inside of her had faded, become cynical and here might be a golden opportunity to turn that all around. But only if ...

"All right, Robbie," Sportacus finally said. "Maybe you have something there. Perhaps they do need to learn a lesson."

Robbie's long face brightened. "I've got just the thing. First, we go into their town, bringing giant buckets of spoiled milk with us ..."

Sportacus shook his head. "Nope. That's not the kind of lesson we're going to teach them."

"Why not?" Robbie pouted. "Waking up smelling like rotten cheese? That's a great lesson."

"What we are going to do, my slothful friend," said Sportacus, draping an arm around Robbie's skinny shoulder, "... is challenge them to another soccer game. And YOU are going to be on our team."

"WHAT?" cried Robbie. He began to splutter. "No ... no, absolutely NOT."

"Or, you can just have your Crown of Badness taken away by, how did you put it again? Oh, yes, a gang of angry interloping midgets from some other pathetic town." Sportacus shrugged carelessly. "It's your choice, Robbie."

"You call that a CHOICE?" Robbie cried, horrified. Robbie Rotten did a lot of things, but playing a game? On a field? A game that required hours of running? That was something he was dead set against -- physically, morally, philosophically and every other "ally" that could apply.

Typical of him, Sportacus seemed monumentally unconcerned about Robbie's ironclad principles. "It's your reputation at stake, not mine. I can only speak for myself, but if I were a villain, and my town was being overrun with wanna-be bad guys ..."

Robbie's lips curled back. Sportakook, darn him, had a point. "All right," he ground out through grit teeth. "I'll join this ... game ... of yours. But only to teach them a lesson that you can't mess with Robbie Rotten."

"And what a fine lesson that will be for them to learn," replied Sportacus, smiling broadly. With a quick series of arm motions, he was off, somersaulting out of the lair and into the Lazytown night. "Goodnight, Robbie. I'll be back and together, we'll make our plans!"

With a deep sigh, Robbie fell back into his fur lounging chair. How the heck did he agree to not only engage in physical activity, but being in the game on the _same side_ as his mortal enemy, Sportasneak?

"Foiled again," he grumbled, before digging in and trying to catch a new batch of forty winks.

0o0o0o

The next morning Stephanie woke up to her friends standing around her bed, staring at her with intent concern. Rising up on one elbow, she chuckled groggily. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Are you ... alive?" Ziggy asked in a shaky voice.

"Of course she's alive, you fool," Pixel snapped. Shaking his head, he handed Stephanie a wrapped box with a large tag reading "Get Well Soon!" on it. "Here's something to keep you busy while stuck in bed."

With a pained grimace, Stephanie pushed herself into a sitting position. Accepted the box excitedly and ripped it open to find a brand new video game inside. "Cool," she exclaimed, but then remembered. "I don't have a Playstation or anything. I won't be able to play it."

"Tut, tut, not a problem," Pixel replied, turning around and pulling out another box from behind his back. Inside of it was a video game player and joystick, obviously constructed from parts of other machines, probably by Pixel himself. "It's not an XBox or anything, but I think it'll work pretty well."

"Wow!" Stephanie said, a smile curving her lips. "Thanks so much! This is awesome."

"We got you some stuff too," said Trixie, nudging Stingy forward.

"Yes, for you to look at because it's min ..." His voice trailed away as the glares around him grew hot. "I mean, here you go, Stephanie. Get well soon."

Inside the gift bag Stephanie found a new diary (pink fake leather, with pink pages to match), a brand new fuchisa gel pen and a huge pile of Hershey's kisses, all wrapped in pink foil. Stephanie had to bite back the tears. "Thanks guys, I love everything."

"You're welcome," said Trixie, shoving herself onto the bed, at Stephanie's side. "Now gimme that pen. We have to sign your cast." She snatched the writing instrument from the bag and tapped it thoughtfully against her lower lip. "What should I write?"

"How about "_When We Told You To Break A Leg Out There, We Didn't Mean It_," Pixel chuckled.

Ziggy snorted loudly between lollipop licks. "Or, _'Stop Falling Down on the Job'_."

"I'm going to write 'Mine' on it," Stingy said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"You're welcome to it," Stephanie sighed, as Trixie leaned over and signed just her name with a flourish, right over the bottom of Stephanie's toes, at the point the cast ended. "Although I don't think you'd like it very much."

"Does it hurt?" Stingy asked, wincing.

"The cast doesn't hurt, although it's hot and itchy," Stephanie shrugged. "The ankle hurt really, really bad yesterday, but I guess ... " She paused to swallow past the lump in her throat. "I guess what hurts more is that someone would do something like this for no good reason. I knew Robbie was bad ..."

Her friends' eyes grew as big as saucers. Trixie gaped at her. "Do you think that Robbie Rotten did this?"

Idly, Stephanie played with the controls her new video game player. She didn't know what to think, really, but inside, she knew that Robbie was more likely a suspect than anyone else she could imagine. The other team couldn't have just been that mean on their own, could they have? No, Robbie was definitely to blame -- he just had to be. "I'm pretty sure he did," she said, although the conviction in her voice wasn't all that strong.

That didn't seem to matter to her shocked ... and furious ... friends. "Ooooh, when I get my hands on him," Trixie threatened, smacking her fist into the opposite palm. "I'll ... I'll ... derottenize him!

"Derottenize him?" Stingy wondered, but then nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds good to me." Slightly confused, he looked around. "Uh, exactly how do we do that?"

Red-faced with fury, Ziggy whacked his lollipop into his other hand, where it remained stuck. While trying to dislodge it, he said: "First we find him. Then we ... we ..."

"We grab him," Trixie interjected.

"And then we shake him," Pixel finished, his hands around the imaginary throat of one Robbie Rotten. "Really, really hard, until all the rottenness falls out of him."

Triumphantly, Trixie crossed her arms over her chest. "And that's how we'll derottenize him."

Stephanie blinked. "Ah, well, maybe you should just leave him be. I mean, I'm not ..." Hesitantly.

But none of them were listening to her. They were hyped up, fueled by righteous anger for their friend and the other pound of Hershey's kisses they didn't give to Stephanie. Grumbling and whacking random things off of Stephanie's shelves, they marched from the room, lead by Trixie -- The Drill Sergeant.

"Who we gonna Derottenize?" she chanted in true Marine fashion.

"Robbie Rotten!" they chanted back as they marched.

"Who's gettin' two black eyes?"

"Robbie Rotten!"

"Uh, guys ... "Stephanie called after them, but it was too late. They were already out the front door, marching straight to Robbie's house. Troubled, she bit her lip and played nervously with the pink wrapped candy that littered her bed. _"I guess it's not really a big deal. He deserves it,"_ she decided, before unwrapping a piece of chocolate and popping it in her mouth.

But as she chewed ... she wondered what exactly was going to happen.

And if she was right about Robbie deserving everything he was going to get.

0o0o0o

to be continued


	4. Never Assume

Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part Four)

Author: PTMalvik  
Rating: PG13

Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes. (Sorry for the update taking so long. Real life stuff intervened.)

0o0o0o

After her furious friends marched from the house in an odd, army-like formation, Stephanie's uncle knocked gingerly at her bedroom door.

"Sweetheart, we have a visitor -- if you're up to visiting, that is," he said.

She saw a blue cap just peeking up over her uncle's head and her heart leapt. "Sportacus? Yes, please, come in!"

Smiling and carrying a gift box, Sportacus quietly entered her room, smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she saw him move so carefully and slowly, especially when he sat down on the edge of her bed, taking great care not to jiggle or move the mattress in any way that might cause her injury to start hurting again.

He leaned back against the headboard, his affectionate grin making Stephanie almost forget about her broken ankle . "Are you feeling a little bit better today?"

She nodded cheerfully. "A little bit."

"I see you've had visitors," Sportacus said, pointing to the pile of gifts littering her bed. "Let's see if I can guess who they were. This must be from Ziggy," he said, picking up an empty candy wrapper, making Stephanie giggle. He pointed to the homemade video game controller. "This must be from Pixel. The diary, that's from Trixie, I think and ..." He peered over at her cast where the words "THIS IS MINE" were written in large, bold letters. "That must be Stingy's gift."

Stephanie laughed aloud. "Right on all counts. You're a good guesser."

Leaning close, he whispered, "It wasn't that hard." With a small flourish, he handed her a box wrapped in shining blue and white foil. "This is from me."

Biting her lip with delight, Stephanie ripped the paper away and opened the box. Inside was a brightly colored soccer jersey -- a real one -- professionally made, with the team name and logo of the "Lazytown Jumpers" embroidered on it, as well as her name on the back, curved gracefully above the number "1".

It was baby pink, silky to the touch and possibly the most gorgeous thing she'd ever seen.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, biting back tears.

"It's just my way of saying, don't give up your dreams even if sometimes, there's a little pain along the way," Sportacus said, putting an arm around Stephanie and pulling her close. "If you keep playing and don't give up, I promise, you'll have more good times than bad. And, if you can convince the others to keep at it, I'll get jerseys for them too and then we'll have a _real _Lazytown soccer team. Would you like that?"

Sniffling, she nodded. "I'd like that a lot."

"Speaking of your friends, where are they?" Sportacus asked, looking around. "I'd thought they'd enjoy having an excuse to sit and play video games all day."

With a shrug, Stephanie sighed. "They, uh, kinda went out to ... see ... Robbie Rotten," she muttered.

An expression of confusion crossed Sportacus's face. " _See _Robbie? What for?"

Remembering her last conversation with them, Stephanie felt her face turn red with embarrassment and more than a little bit of anger. "They went to derottenize him."

"Derottenize?"

Sportacus didn't sound exactly happy with that word, Stephanie thought. Avoiding his searching look, she stared at the jersey and played with its hem between her fingers. "Because he's the one who made me fall and break my ankle," she snapped, feeling miserable and guilty _and_ angry, all at the same time. It wasn't a good feeling. "He's the one who got those kids to play against us and told them to cheat like that and that's why I'm stuck here in this stupid bed, taking pills and not having any fun at all for six whole weeks."

"Do you know that for certain?" Sportacus asked, in an even, patient tone.

No, she didn't know for _certain_, but did that really matter? At a loss for any better proof, she shrugged again and said: "Who else could it be? He's always been a jerk, especially when it comes to kids having fun."

A few moments of heavy silence passed between them. Stephanie found herself doubting her own words, especially as her anger waned. Guilt too, as she knew her friends were probably pounding the lazy straight of Robbie, right at that very moment.

"You know, Stephanie, I made the same assumption," Sportacus said, finally, breaking the silence. "I went over his house last night and asked him about it. And you know what?"

Oh, this wasn't good, Stephanie thought, her heart suddenly in her throat. "What?"

"I'm almost positive he had nothing to do with it. In fact, he's agreed to a rematch against the other team, with _him_ playing on our side."

Stephanie's jaw dropped. She gaped at Sportacus. "Are you serious? Robbie Rotten is going to play in a soccer game against those kids? On _our _side?"

"That's right." Sportacus' voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "Seems that he doesn't like being upstaged in the villain department. Which is what made me certain he had nothing to do with it."

Horrified, Stephanie clapped her hands to her mouth. "Sportacus! You have go and save him! Trixie and Stingy and ... oh, and Pixel ... and Ziggy too all went to go get him! They are there right now and ... oh gosh! You have to help him! They're probably doing something awful to him!"

"Oh no," Sportacus said, quickly rising, his jaw set in a determined line. "I'll go save him. Now you rest, Stephanie, and don't be sad or angry. We're going to straighten everything out. It's all going to be all right, I promise."

"Just hurry," Stephanie begged, swallowing hard. She watched him zip out the door, then through her window, she could see him flipping toward Robbie's house, which sat on the other side of town.

How awful, she thought miserably, biting her thumbnail. Assuming the worst of Robbie without proof was stupid of her and oh why hadn't she stopped her friends from marching out like that? And here she was, stuck in bed and unable to stop them.

Thank goodness she had Sportacus. He'd make everything all right again.

If he got there in time.

0o0o0o

"And take THAT!"

Ziggy whacked his lollipop one more time atop Robbie's elaborately coifed hairdo. It wasn't a hard hit, in fact, it barely moved a hair out of place, but Robbie was lying on the ground nonetheless, cringing and blubbering, then shrieking horribly when Trixie bared her teeth and poised herself to sink them into Robbie's ankle.

"We'll see how much you like this!" she cried, about to chomp down when something quick and blue pulled her up by her collar, leaving her to snap at the air.

"Kids!" cried Sportacus, pulling them one by one, off of Robbie's shaking form. "This is not good. This isn't the way we solve disputes!"

"But he hurt Stephanie!" Pixel protested, aiming his Zapper 1231 at Robbie. The blaster disappeared from his hand as Sportacus quickly grabbed it and tossed it over the wall, where it landed in the grass with a _thump_.

"I didn't do anything!" Robbie wailed. He was unhurt, but that didn't seem to quell his indignant cries. "Do you see what these _monsters _ have done to me?" He allowed Sportacus to help him to his feet. "These little animals! Why, they could have _killed _me!"

"Let's not exaggerate, Robbie," Sportacus sighed. He gave Robbie a friendly pat on the back. "It was all a misunderstanding." He regarded the children sternly. "A misunderstanding, guys. Robbie had nothing to do with Stephanie's accident. In fact, he's offered to join us in a rematch against the other team, to show them that we here in Lazytown don't take things lying down."

"Robbie does," Stingy sniffed. "Take things lying down, that is."

"Why you ..." Robbie growled, but quieted when Sportacus lifted his hand for silence.

Ziggy scratched his head, pondering what Sportacus had said. His lollipop was plastered with a few strands of Robbie's hair and he grimaced at it before tossing it aside. "So it was all the other kids who were so mean like that?"

"Yes," Sportacus replied, kneeling down beside Ziggy and putting a hand on his shoulder. "But we can't sink down to their level, especially when it comes to assuming things that might not be true and acting on rumors. We still have to play fair and square and I know we'll beat them that way."

"Does this mean we can't beat up Robbie? I mean, he's done lots of other stuff," chimed in Trixie hopefully. "Just one little ankle bite? Please?"

"No," Sportacus replied firmly. "No hitting, biting, tripping or hurting in any way. Guys, you have to promise me that you'll never do anything like this again, to anyone."

"But especially not to me," Robbie interjected. "Tell them, Sportakook."

"And especially not to Robbie," Sportacus added. "Come on, guys. Promise me."

"We promise," they chimed in as one.

Happily, Sportacus rubbed his hands together. "That's what I like to hear. And now, we need to make a game plan, because the Lazytown Jumpers have a game to win for Stephanie!"

"For Stephanie!" they cheered, jumping up and down.

Robbie rolled his eyes. Was there no end to his suffering, he wondered. "Yay," he mumbled without enthusiasm. "Just ... yay."

0o0o0o0o

to be continued ...


	5. The Pride of Lazytown

Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part Five - Finale)

Author: PTMalvik

Rating: PG13

Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes.

0o0o0o

It was a beautiful sunny day when the rematch took place, the Lazytown Jumpers against the rough-and-tumble Out of Towners. Sportacus had procured soccer jerseys for everyone, even Robbie Rotten, who plucked uncomfortably at the neck of the pink polyester shirt he was wrapped in from the waist up.

Somehow, Sportacus had found an extra pair of jogging shorts as well and they clung to Robbie's thin legs in all the wrong places, making him fidget around the field, looking as if he was doing a little dance to music only he could hear.

"I don't like this outfit, Sportakook," he complained repeatedly. "It makes me look ... too athletic."

Sportacus humored him with a nod or two, but was more interested in coaching the kids, who were practically jumping out of their sneakers to get a chance to take on the enemy.

Stephanie sat on the sidelines in a special pink wheelchair that Miss Busybody had _somehow_ procured for her, wearing her jersey as a full, if disabled, member of the team. She waved a pair of pink pom-poms, her pretty face glowing with excitement. She looked liked the Stephanie of old and Sportacus couldn't help but smile with her, relieved that things seemed to be turning out for the best.

He was even happy to see Robbie out and about. The poor fellow needed some air and sunshine desperately. "All right, Robbie," said Sportacus, once he was done with the kids. "You're going to be our goalie."

"Goalie! I have to be the goalie! I don't want to be the goalie!" Robbie whined. He paused. "What's a goalie?"

"A goalie is the fellow who stops the other team from scoring." Sportacus leaned in toward Robbie with a conspiratorial look. "You might say, that to the opposing team ... he's the villain. Anything they try to do to get ahead, he foils them, again and again."

A sly smile covered Robbie's face. "I think this is something I might be able to handle."

"I know you can. Plus, there's not a whole lot of running. You simply stand in wait and once they take their shot ... BAM! You stop the score and shatter their dreams into a million pieces."

"This sounds very good," Robbie said, rubbing his hands together. "And once I've emerged victorious?"

Sportacus smiled. "They have to leave town ... "

Robbie's face lit up with a keen glow of hope. "Forever?"

"Well, not forever," Sportacus replied. "But at least until the next Sports Day."

"That's good enough," Robbie snickered, getting into position before the goal net. "Bring those losers on!"

The horn blew to announce the start of the game. Both teams took the field for the face-off, as Mayor Meanswell began to chew his nails compulsively. "I hope we win, I hope we win," he muttered, even as Bessie tried to slap his fingers away from his mouth. "Oh, Miss Busybody, I can't take the suspense."

"Oh, hush," she replied, even as her hair started to uncurl from nerves. "Of course we'll win." She turned her attention to the field and bellowed, "DID YOU HEAR THAT? I SAID, OF COURSE YOU'LL WIN!"

But everyone was too involved in the game to notice her cry. The opposing team immediately tried to use their old tactics of tripping and stealing, but Sportacus was too quick for them, flipping over their heads any time they tried to tangle his feet. While they were distracted, Pixel and Trixie easily kicked the ball away, and ran with it, straight toward their goal.

The Out-of-Towners goalie hadn't had much practice, as most teams they'd played against never got close to the goal, so once the shot was set up, it was an easy point for the Jumpers.

Stephanie cheered and bounced so excitedly at the surprise goal, she nearly slipped from her chair. "Whoops," she laughed, regaining her balance. Holding the pom-poms high, she cried, "Go Jumpers! Go ... " A short pause. "Go Robbie!"

Robbie blinked in surprise at his name being called from the sidelines. He looked around for a second, but soon there was no time to investigate the matter as two large and angry-looking forwards came barreling toward him with the ball.

_Okay_, he said to himself, trying to remember what exactly he was doing there. _Now, to them, I'm the villain. Heh, heh, that's good. They try to take their shot ..._

Closer they came, their faces beet red with competetive fury.

Robbie kept thinking, rubbing his chin. _And I stand here, waiting. Then ... huh. What do I do again?_

Closer ... and closer ...

_It was something about shattering their legs ..._ Robbie scratched his head. _No, that's not it._

They were almost on top of him by this time, grinning evilly as they prepared to kick the stuffing out of the ball, right into the goal.

_I'm supposed to stop something. Wait, the score! I stop the score ..._

With a furious kick the ball sailed toward the goal, just as Robbie snapped out of his reverie. He leapt up and caught it in his spindly arms, falling flat onto his back from the force of the blow. For long seconds, he lay there, unmoving.

The crowd gasped and Stephanie strained from her chair to see. "Robbie!" she called, worried. "Robbie! Are you okay?"

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," chattered Mayor Meanswell and Bessie in unison.

Sportacus ran over, but just as he got there, Robbie slowly rose, holding the caught ball high. "AND I SHATTER THEIR DREAMS!" he cried victoriously.

Dancing a little victory dance, he chuckled wildly, as all around the opposing team stared in disbelief.

The cheers echoed through the sports field, and Robbie allowed the kids to pile on top of him with a good-natured growl. "All right, all right, " he said, struggling out from beneath a jubilant Ziggy and Stingy, wiping his arms off with exaggerated gestures. "Let's not get too mushy now." He tossed the ball to Sportacus with a arrogant air. "Easy as cake, Sportakook."

"You certainly do make it look that way, Robbie," Sportacus said admiringly. "All right, team, let's finish off this game!"

And finish it off they did, with a final score of Lazytown Jumpers six and the Out-of-Towners, five. When the last whistle blew, there was dancing and singing, because even if Stephanie couldn't dance at the moment, she could still belt out a victory song, one that sounded happily throughout the town.

The celebration lasted well into the late afternoon, as the Mayor set up a snack table, which Robbie attacked with hungry glee. "I have to say one thing about this exercise stuff," he said around a mouthful of cupcake. "It certainly does lend itself to an appetite."

"That it does," Sportacus said, raising a cup of apple juice to him. "Well done, Robbie!"

"Three cheers for Robbie Rotten!" Stephanie exclaimed, her face glowing with happiness again. "The Pride of Lazytown!"

Robbie looked suspicious for a moment, but that look melted away to pleasure when the cheers sounded over the square, all of them chanting his name. "Well, uh ... thank you?" he said, uncharacteristically abashed. He thought for a long moment and turned to Sportacus. "I don't suppose this means you'll be leaving town now that I'm the pride of Lazytown and all that?"

"Hardly," Sportacus laughed, clapping him on the back. "But, nice try as always, Robbie."

Robbie shrugged and laughed right along with him, as behind them all, the sun set on another fine Lazytown day.

0o0o0o

THE END

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your patience and all your kind reviews, which are always welcome.


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